Alliance prominently featured in WHO Africa Workshop on Indoor Air Quality Guidelines
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves joined the World Health Organization (WHO) at the Africa Workshop on Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (IAQG) in Addis this month. It is the third time the Alliance has collaborated with WHO at an IAQG workshop; having joined the South Asia and Pan American Health Organization regional IAQG workshops in previous years.
Household air pollution resulting from inefficient combustion of household fuels is the leading environmental risk factor for ill health globally. In Africa, the situation is especially dire; over 800 million people are exposed to household air pollution resulting in almost 600,000 premature deaths annually.
In response to this global health crisis, WHO has developed health-based indoor air quality guidelines for household energy use. These guidelines provide practical guidance on clean cooking technologies and fuels and target public health policy-makers and specialists working to develop and implement national policies to reduce the health impacts of household air pollution.
The WHO Africa Regional workshop brought together representatives from the Ministries of Health, Environment, Energy, and Power of over 10 African countries, as well as WHO AFRO regional office representatives, NGOs, and researchers from around the globe. At the workshop, countries developed action plans to integrate the WHO Indoor Air Quality Guidelines into programs and policies for related to health, energy, sustainable development and/or climate.
At this year’s workshop, Alliance staff demonstrated how two Alliance tools – Household Air Pollution Intervention Tool (HAPIT) and the Clean Cooking Catalog – can be used to help policymakers make informed decisions about clean cooking interventions for their country. Researchers also presented preliminary results from Alliance- and USAID/TRAction-funded adoption studies investigating the drivers of uptake and sustained use of clean cooking solutions, which is critical for the achievement of long-term benefits.